Marimba, Marimba!! Welcome to Xela (Quetzaltenango)yea xela is better, but just so you know, the quetzal is a muy bonita long tail bird (somewhat rare now), so the name means place of the quetzal. Anyway marimba (think xylophone, that spelling is not even close, with 3 guys playing it at once) so how do home- made marimba’s become a big thing? Must be a MAYAN thing!! This is what you say when you just don’t understand something about Guatemala. Must be a MAYAN thing! The people of Guatemala are the most concentrated indigenous group I’ve encountered with every area of the country (except guate) speaking a different Mayan language as its 1^st language, Spanish is second fiddle here, but all speak it. I hope the indigenous languages will not be lost on the next generations. Xela is the2nd largest city, but small by comparison. Yet this is where we met Sam’s familia de Guatemala, as it is not far to Sam’s village of Almolonga. We had dinner at the B4 mentioned Fried chicken joint (not the place to be with a queasy stomach). It was loud and crowded with marimba music flowing and they ONLY served fried pollo(chicken) Regardless it was wonderful to meet Jose y Maria y hija Elysa. It must have been a funny sight as we were the only gringos in the place and all 3 of us over a foot taller than any of them, but we had a grand time and it warmed our heart to see Sam so knit together with them. We were to spend more time with them in their home in Almolonga.

Sam of course fought all our battles for us. Bargaining hard for the best price, rejecting taxi’s who tried to take advantage of the gringos, protecting us in crowded markets, on buses, squeezing us into tuktuks, finding us wonderful hotels, helping us with menus (except as a vegan,(she wont like me calling her a vegan) she was lost when it came to cuts of meat. The poor waiter had to point to his body parts…oh you mean ribs?) The greatest joy for us was seeing her embraced by the communities where she lives and works. At 1^st Almolonga was hard for us. Dirty, smelly, congested. But then we started meeting all the people who knew sam. Warm smiles hugs kisses, excited conversation, excited to meet the parents of their Samantha. That’s right, they don’t plan to let her go. The children running by all greet sam, the girls give a hug. Away from the main street Almolonga settles down as it slopes down to the fields for which it is famous. Here there is a beauty and serenity that is hard to describe and you begin to understand, in a small way, what it is the people value. Down the road a ways is another village,Zunil, cleaner but only because they throw the garbage in the river, but a lovely place with lovely people who like all the rest work extremely hard through the course of their day. It was a sight as the women do their laundry by the river in the shadow of yet another volcan with the brightness of their faces reflected in the vibrant colors of the blankets spread out along the river bank. We had a short visit to a Almolongan church, and it is safe to say that the Hand of God is active here and His Church is alive.

Salsa, Salsa!!! Back to music. Sam surprised us with private samba lessons. OH yea we were surprised all right. Private meant one-on-one instruction in front of a room full of folks on exercise equipment. But what can you do? You roll with it!! GUATEMALA !!

What my Papi has to say about the first part of his trip...

So why in every airport I’ve ever been to do you have to walk a mile to get to customs? My visit to guate began with this great mystery, but our experience with Guatemalan immigration went smoothly despite all the Thanksgiving contraband in our luggage, including a can of pumpkin for what became an incredible pie baked at altitude in a propane oven, but I am getting ahead of myself and that is a story in itself. Like most Latin city airports there is a crowd of folks outside the doors. Its one of the 1^st things that your mind registers as different.

In the throng, we found our hija’s smile and long strong hugs were enjoyed, then into a waiting taxi and the streets of Guate (that’s Guatemala City for you gringos). We know the white lines on the road as lane boundaries, but here and in a lot of places those are motorcycle lanes inbetween the lines of cars, buses, trucks (mostly diesel gag/cough!!!). The city is alive though with people walking, on bikes, babies on back with large loads carried on heads, vendors, shop keepers; throw in a lot of dogs, chickens, goats, horses. The city sights were interrupted by an ambulance that decides to Uturn over the median in front of us. The car next to us was rear ended. Ah, Guatemala!

The ride to Antigua was lovely. Mountains sprang up even before we left the city and our travel for the rest of our stay was up&down and side to side. Hard on queasy stomachs, but what the heck, the food was good (except for the fried chicken place but I’m getting ahead again; can you say” necesito el servicio”). Of course nothing tops a “tuktuk” on the cobblestone streets of Antigua. Now I know how a Christmas tree feels when they put it on the shaker (tuktuk-a 3 wheeled scooter that carries passengers). It was fun though in a “how did I get here” kind of way. Antigua is a lovely Spanish colonial town, in the shadow of volcano Fuego. Shops and restaurants and street markets and of course the centerpiece is the park fountain with 4 bare breasted maidens, the water of life streaming from their breasts! Bonita old churches, young street vendors, candy señor? Flute? Necklace for the pretty lady? Woven bracelets, scarves, blankets. Gracias, no. Lo siento, no. Cuanto cuesta? The bargaining is on! (Sam, I still want the pecking chickens! 10 q only!!) A Buenos dias/tardes/noches from almost every passerby.

Hotel Aurora, muy bien!! Street markets are crowded, lively affairs with tight 2-way traffic in each isle. Tried a new fruit I had never seen before and wanted to buy a sombrero as I can never seem to remember to bring a hat on trips, but came up empty. Street markets are not the tourist markets (I dislike tourists) full of weavings in every form, carvings, bright paintings that all look the same, toys, leather items. I believe there is a large factory somewhere in South America (maybe China) that supplies all the markets around the world. It’s owned by WALMART!!!

Installment 2 next week

The moment you ve been waiting for... The thoughts of Mrs. Donna Boss on her recent visit to Guatemala!!!!

So, today I reread my journal from our trip to Guatemala and all the memories and images came flooding back. It is nearly impossible to use mere words to describe our experience but I will try(not as eloquently as Sam or Bob!) to share with you my visions of Guatemala...

*The joy of seeing Sam as we exited the airport...it had been 11 months since we embraced!

*Entering Antigua...our first stop...bumpy streets of pieced rocks/stones, people everywhere out and about

*Hotel Aurora...women selling their goods at the entrance...beautiful courtyard, lovely room with flatscreen TV(we don't even have this at home!), yet no toilet paper can be flushed down the toilets

*Antigua central park...breasts of life fountain...children selling candy, jewelry, weavings and all sorts of items...one little boy, a bit disheveled with sad eyes selling woven bracelets

*Many people with disabilities and old men and women with cup for begging...one man with no legs or arms...only able to look up at the sky..so much I take for granted, so much I've been given Lord

*Vibrant colors of woven clothing everywhere

*Warm greetings of "Buenos Dias"!!

*Shops of all kinds...Dona Luisa bakery...giant chocolate crinkle cookies!!

Onto Xela, Almolonga and Zunil... Sams "hood"

*No straight roads...hairpin curves, climbing mountains, decending mountains...no thought of wearing seatbelts!

*Boulders or tree limbs instead of orange barrels

*Meeting the family Sam lives with at Albamar Fried Chicken Restaurant...Jose, Maria and Elysa...Warm, kind and attempting to communicate thru Sam's translation(amazed by her fluency in Spanish)

*Unfortunately stomach issues begin to plague us...Bob is pretty sick but thankfully the worst of it is over in 2 hours

*Taking our first chicken bus to Almolonga(no chickens!)...

*Almolonga...concrete built homes with rusted roofs on the side of mountains...valley filled with vegetables growing, meticulously tended...streets with a foot of dirt, ruts, and more looking like dry river beds than roads

*Children calling out, "Samantha"...she is clearly known and cared about

*Watching Maria make tortillas...such tiny skillful hands

*Seeing the church of Jesus Christ gather to worship...alive and well

Santa Maria...volcano that overlooks Zunil...women side by side washing clothes in the river

*a ferris wheel and rides set up for Feria or Fair

*trash strewn everywhere..in the towns, streets and even in the fields

*Chicken bus nationwide strike...buses parked to block anything but local transportation in the whole country, thankfully only one day!

*Sam's big surprise for us on our last evening in Xela...private salsa lessons with Antonio...private is relative term...dance area is half the room...the other half is full of people on treadmills and other workout equipment...they even took pictures of us!

Loved the lessons and learning some new steps with my hubbie.

Onto Lake Atitlan..."the vacation"

*Arrive into Panajackel...after 4 hour shuttle...steep mountains.. section of one lane road because of rain washout in Oct.

*Incredible views of this huge crater lake with 3 massive volcanos, Atitlan, Toliman and San Pedro

*Bustling little town...get Bob and all our luggage onto a ferry boat to go to Santa Cruz la Laguna, village where our house rental is

*Sam and I take a tuk-tuk(scooter like vehicle that has back passenger seat for max. 3 adults) to grocery store to buy supplies... we even find a can of whipped cream for our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie!!!(I have brought with me stuffing, canned pumpkin and evaporated milk)

*Walk up to our house...actually more of a climb...at least 50 steps but well worth each step...beautiful home...glassed in veranda with striking views..flowers everywhere, hummingbirds and butterflies...all the amenities of home...well, except for the large wall spiders and scorpion living behind the bathroom mirror(which Bob and Sam didn't tell me about until the morning we were leaving!)

*5 wonderful days together...talking, sharing, kayaking, playing cards, reading, praising and praying, resting, eating, visiting other lakeshore villages, shopping, collecting the floating rocks of Lake Atitlan, and having a Thanksgiving day of giving thanks for this time together and His provision for it all

Our time comes to a close as we travel back to Antigua for our final night in Guatemala...we were excited to finish our time by seeing Laura and husband Hugo...we had the priveledge to have Laura stay in our home several years ago when she traveled to Cleveland as a soccer coach with Ambassadors in Sports, conducting a soccer camp at our church...a sweet time of fellowship and encouragement to end our 10 days in Guatemala and an amazing blessing to see them in their homeland!

I am truly thankful to have had this opportunity, first to see Sam and the life she is living and those she is seeking to help in Guatemala as well as those dear people who have befriended her...and experience in a small way the kind people and beautiful country and sights of Guatelmala. May He continue to build His church and kingdom in Guatemala and bless this nation...

-Donna (mamasita as Sam calls me!)

long time no see...

happy belated thanksgiving!!!

and happy december!!! (decided to listen to christmas music this morning. bad idea, 75 and sunny with nat king cole is no good)

i've had a busy and beautiful past week, my parents came to visit me here in Guatemala and so there we were hacking through the bush, laughing, and making wonderful memories!

but alas, i'm back in almolonga busy as all get out... english classes once again (my pride and joy), getting caught up with friends here and just trying to stay on top of things.

i have a lot to tell you all, but i'm going to leave it to my parents! yes that's right, reflections of their trip from my lovely parents. get excited...

It's been an exciting week in Guatemala! Tuesday November 1st was Dia de los Santos. My host niece, Rosita, has been staying with us (school vacation! wootwoot). She and I headed out to check the cemetary in Almolonga. Each family buys tons of flowers to adorn the graves of their loved ones, candles, messages, whatever. I've never been one who likes cementaries, but this tradition hit me as beautifully connected. Children learn about their ancestors, and the family line has so many stories, so many secrets, that seem to resurface the first of November.

The market leading up to Nov. 1st was busting with all different types of flowers. Almolongans bought them and took them to other markets to sell... They prefer buying flowers for their own relatives that come from other places (mainly the coast).

And of course, KITE FLYING! It is magical (even on top of tombs). Hundreds and hundreds of kites... Reminded me of the kite festival in DC. (and yes, of course Rosita and I flew our own).

Recycling! smile...

The cementary in Almolonga is up on a hill overlooking the valley. Great view, but made me a little scared during the heavy rains that one day it was all just going to slide down the mountainside.

My host parents set up an alter in the house for their parents too...

This week I also started teaching English to two groups of teachers. It's a six week course, that has two sections that each meet twice a week. It was lots of fun, jumping around, getting to know a different side of people that I've known since I got here. The idea of the class is that teachers feel more comfortable teaching English in their own classrooms. The national curriculum of Guatemala demands English classes for kids in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. But the thing is that the kids LOVE learning English. They pay attention and ask millions of questions. Teachers really want to tap into that to get the kids more interested in other subjects. The teachers already know a ton of vocabulary, the pronouciation is what were going to be working on mostly.

Last Sunday was my host sister, Elisa's, birthday (the big 2-8)! We went to one of the many pools in Almolonga and had a cookout and swam and sprawled out in the sun like lazy cats. It was glorious, and made me feel like summer vacation (sun burn and all)...

Yesterday was the presidential election. Much more calm than the previous election. When they announced the winner (surprisingly early, around 7:15 pm), it was an explosion of fireworks all over Almolonga. The whole family went up to the balcony patio and it was like fourth of july. Bright lights reminding you that there's still hope for happiness in the future...

the sun has finally graced us with its presence. and it is beautiful. and all of this still matters.

today is Revolution Day. yesterday i got the downlow from my lovely friends at the health center here in Almolonga. it was 1944, the height of a military oligarchy in Guatemala. the gap between the rich and poor was widening. there were few landowners. epitomy of 'working for the man'. enter a group of young soldiers willing to stand up and take on said man for workers' rights, for agrarian reform, for a voice.

the bummer? not much has changed since 1944. but we can dream.

need some inspiration? look no further.

'no one man should have all that power' -kw

After:

Before:

first off, i want to tell you all that i am well and my family is well. our house is fine. we have food. we have electricity and water.
but almolonga is not so fine.

i was laying in bed. 4am. wide awake. hearing the river that was once my street outside my front door. and i got that feeling. like when you stand too long looking out at the ocean. and you realize just how small you are. i felt so small. i kept thinking about how small i am. how it would be so easy for the house to fall into itself and disappear into a pile of rocks...

i made a cup of coffee and sat with Doña Maria... she was so worried because she didn't have any Maseca (powder to make tortillas when there is no electricity to grind your corn). so i said that i'd venture out to buy some. thank god for those boots! it's 8am and five stores later, there's no Maseca to be found. but i did see the destruction all over Almolonga. and it blew my mind. boulders bigger than me. i have no idea where they came from. pickup trucks smashed like matchbox toys the day after christmas.

four children died. they were inside their house when it fell. Efraín, 5; Lesly Marisol, 9; Glendy Maribel, 11, y Marleny López Maxana, 12. how do you process that? to me, it breaks my heart because it's just so preventable. building codes. drainage. that's what kills me.

here are some professional pics of almolonga...

it's harder than you think, this blog thing... seriously though, there's this post it note i keep in the back of my brain constantly ready for a good topic to bring up on the blog. but the thing about it is that i'm worried.

this might be the only thing you ever read about Guatemala. that's kind of a lot of pressure, because i've come to love being here and want you to feel the same way even from far away. And because i'm in my 10th month here in Guate, which given my short life, is a long time, it feels so normal being here. Because it's getting harder and harder to think of things that you will find funny or unique, they've become my reality.

so i'm going to start simple. that's right, simple. the things that i should have told you from the getgo but never got around to it.

10 things you should know:

1.) Almolonga and Zunil are the COUNTRY, yeehaw! as in if you don't have a pickup truck you are nothing. the older men wear cowboy hats.

2.) there is nothing that smells as good as a pickup passing by that is full (literally bursting) with onion picked that morning. cilantro is comprable...

3.) most women over the age of 45 are illiterate.

4.) almolonga is pure concrete and fields. they build up to conserve space for growing their veggies. where you don't see block you see green.

5.) they use an ungodly amount of chemical fertilizers on said veggies.

6.) women carry things on their heads. men carry things on their backs.

7.) trash. there is a lot of trash in the streets. but the trash truck comes twice a week and for Q1 will take that nastiness off your hands and burn it for you.

8.) when people ask where you're from, they mean the state. most men have seen more of the us than i have.

9.) hot/cold. people are very concious about temperature when it comes to eating. you never eat avocado at night. it's a cold food. you'll get sick. no joke.

10.) REFA! the best part of the day in my humble opinion, morning snack that applies to everyone... icecream? yup. fruit? yup. candy? yup. whatever, if it's 10 am, you eat!

dearest people who care about me,

so i have a funny story. it was one of those stories that, as it was unfolding, i wanted to laugh just thinking about retelling it. so here it goes, my experience at the opthamologist:

sunday night i'm watching tv at home alone (the guate rents went to church) and my right eye gets real itchy. so what do i do? i itch it of course. and like it should, my contact lense bobbles out of place. now, as a background note, i have worn contacts since i was 12 years old. and as a rule, when i itch my eyes and my contacts go all crazy they always fall back into their propper place after about an hour at worst.

so there i am two hours later ready for bed with said contact still stuck somewhere in my eye. oh well, i'm not worried. surley it will fall out when i sleep.

monday morning: eye is bloodshot and hurting above my tearduct. shoot. that contact is still in there. slight freak out. this has never happened before. wash out my eye with water (recommendation of mama boss). okay, so i go to work as normal. by noon it's still in there somewhere. alright, suck it up and call Peace Corps medical. 'ummmm yyeeaahh, so this is kind of stupid but my contact is stuck somewhere in my eye'. no problem, appointment at 5:00 in Xela. whew.

5:00 p.m. Torre Professional, Xela: Watching Alice in Wonderland waiting for the doc to see me. and it fits, i feel sort of like alice in this situation.

5:30, Samantha Boss, i get up and am led into an office where i am met by a very young and rather attractive doctor. just my bad luck, im at the doctor for the stupidest thing ever and he has to be. i go to shake his and and my purse hits his desk, knocking off his glass model of the human eye. thank god it didn't break, but there i am, turning super red and apologizing. of course sam.

'so what seems to be the problem?'. oh god. i have a contact lodged in my eyeball somewhere.

'alright, we'll let's see what we can do about that'.

commence exam of him folding up my eyelid and sticking a swab in there. cringe. it was aweful.

after 20 minutes of probing around, no luck. he called in another doctor for a second opinion.

nada.

he tries to make me feel better by saying that this happens all the time and that my eye was so irriated that it felt like the lense was still in there. i'm red again. are you kidding me?

worst of all? i have a follow up appointment in a week.

worst than that? i needed to feel better so i walked over to Wendy's for a frosty. and would you believe there was no chocolate. a vanilla frosty? people, don't waste your money.

moral of the story? too many to count.

love,

sam

Almolonga`s central park, Independence day festivities...

Zunil traje...

Almolonga traje...

Happy Guatemalan Independence Day! 190 years and going strong...

Today, September 11th, which holds so much emotion for me as an American, also holds emotion for me as an American living in Guatemala. Today is election day here, it's the culmination of months of campaigning and debate. The mayoral races are the most contentious and in Almolonga passions run high between the three parties vying for power. Peace Corps asked me to leave my site for the weekend as a preemptive precaution, so I'm staying with a fellow PC volunteer about 45 minutes away until Tuesday when all settles down.

Last night I was thinking about how much has (and hasn't) changed in the past ten years. Thought I'd share what was on my mind:

"Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that forever changed our world. 10 years. Time plays such tricks on us, doesn't it? Saddness passes, but not without its scars. And we're weak after all. Delicate flesh that feels. Or maybe we're delicate because we feel. Whether weak or strong-here we are, all connected. Our passions, no matter how polarized, are what make us human. Our capacity for good and evil, is what makes us human. Our hurt, is what make us human.

But it is our ability to forgive, to be compassionate, to choose to rise above guns, tanks, bombs, planes--that, that is what would make us good.

And that is my hope for our world. That each person, each small human, would choose goodness over hurt. "

My weekend.

(jealous?)

my day-

1.decided to wear a dress. mistake. ive never been harassed so much in my life. heeeeyyyy bbbbaaabbbbbyyy
2. had to judge little girls. yes, another nina escolar
3. got blisters on my feet by 11 am
4. rode a super crowded bus and almost fainted.
5. tried to get off said bus in said dress. struggle fest.
6. while walking to bus number 2, a dog emerged from under a truck and barked at me. then 8 more dogs came out from under the same truck. i ran into the street and started screaming, swinging my purse in giant swoops to break through the circle the mad dogs had formed around me and worrying that if they bite me i dont even have jeans to protect my legs. rabies anyone?
7. i realize while my heart was still pounding that a lot of people witnessed the scene of the insane gringa screaming in the street.
8. got home and the electricity was out. not really a big deal, but heck, just thought id add it in here for kicks.

im laughing right now. honestly though? what on earth.
oh peace corps. love it!

I've already talked about beauty pageants here in Guatemala. They are, for lack of better words, a big deal. Each school has a Niña Escolar who represents the school in district wide events for the entire year. The truth is I'm not a huge fan. These things always tend to end with tears, and it seems to me that it teaches girls at an early age that what is important is how new their traje is. But on the other hand, the girls do have to give a speech so there is some skill involved.

That being said the Niña Escolar presentations are pretty freaking cute. Little girls in their best trajes are adorable. They walk in doing this little sidestep dance to marimba music (the traditional music here in Guate).

These pictures are from the Niña Escolar competition at Chacap in Zunil so the girls are all wearing the Zunil traje. Their top is called a wipil in Spanish (or 'pot' in K'iche'), their skirt is called a corte in Spanish ('uq' in K'iche') and in their hair they use a cinta intricately wrapped through their hair, and heels of course!

It's important for you to know that the girls dress in traje everyday! The only thing they don't really use is the cinta in their hair (older women use the cinta everyday). These girls play basketball in their heels and cortes, I guess when you grow up in them it's comfortable...

Most of the schools I'm working with are super interested in teaching their students about trash... Strange? Why, yes. In the US we put our glass in one bag, our cans in another bag, our paper in another bag and throw out the rest (or put it in the compost pile). Here in Zunil the trash issue is city wide. They have a trash truck that charges Q2 for each big bag and they take it off your hands, throw it off a cliff and light it with a match. Or if your family doesn't have the Q2 to pay (25 cents) then you burn it yourself or throw it in the river. Yes, trash is an issue.

So as a part of Healthy Schools, the teachers really want to work on trash management so that the next generation won't continue with the status quo. It's hard because you don't want the kids classifying their trash and then having them haul it all to the river in the end. So what do you do with this classified trash when there aren't good industrial recycling options nearby? YOU GET CREATIVE!

Enter the paper brick! This brick is pure paper (newspaper, notebook paper, whatever kind of paper minus cardboard and toilet paper). The paper brick was a peace corps invention back in the day and it's still chugging. You have the kids put all their paper in a bag then once they have enough you tear it up, and let it sit in water for two days. After two days it comes out looking like a strange and not-so-appetizing dough that you throw into a metal mold which pushes the water out (with a bit of elbow grease) and bam. you have a paper brick.

What do you do with said paper brick once it dries? You use it to cook. Most families here still use firewood so by utilizing the paper brick, which lasts up to FOUR HOURS in the fire and releases equivalent or less smoke than firewood, you reduse the number of trees that get chopped down from the mountaintops and you use what would have been trash for something productive.

No, it's not a perfect solution. But it's a start...

The wet paper in a huge bin

Sixth graders in Zunil putting the paper into the mold to make the bricks

Pushing the handles down on the mold to get all the water out

The final product set out to dry! We made around 30 bricks with one week's worth of paper from a school of 500 kids... They are planning on giving to the three schools in the district who still use fire to cook the school snack!

Some views from my neck of the woods...

This is the view of the volcano Santa Maria from Zunil. The school bus (more commonly known as a chicken bus, is how I get from Almolonga to Zunil in about 20 minutes). Those of you planning to visit, better find your self a a step machine because we'll be hiking up it!)

A nice view of Zunil, on a sunny morning as I head for a school in an aldea of the town center.

The view from my house!

The view from my house in the afternoon when the clouds move in...